Wheel Well / Floor Undercoating

[andrew15]

Hi All - What is the correct undercoating procedure for the wheel wells and floors for my 70S?
Is it:
a) whole shell body colour then undercoated black?
b) bottom and wheel wells undercoated , then body colour on top?

I'm confused because the engine bay is undercoated , then body colour, then satin black - which from my research is correct.
But.... I've also heard that the front trunk can be body colour then undercoating (light coat of the black - stuff same as wheel well) on top???

Any help would be great - I'm embarking on a bare shell restoration and would like to be as correct as possible in the build up. Chassis number is below 400 for the 1970 model year (late 69 manufacture date?) if that makes a difference.

Regards,
Andrew M

[70SATMan]

Hi Andrew,

Black in the trunk was a signature of Karmann bodies in 70 and as I understand they were not a supplier of S bodies since they did not do galvanizing and our 70 esses were among the first to get this treatment. So, your car should be body color in the trunk. You are correct for the engine compartment. I'm not sure of the wells. I know they are not body color but, maybe just undercoating over the paint? From some of the pics I have seen of the 700 mile S I tend to think the treatment should be the same as the engine compartment?

I'm still waiting to buy the CD of the complete 700 mile 70S photo documentation. I'm worthy....I think Yes,...I am worthy!

[911T1971]

Mine (build Nov. 70, sold Jan. 71) has whole shell body colour then undercoated black, including wheel wells and underside chassis.
Undercoating does not look "transparent" and does not reveil body color, its rather "solid" matt black.
Engine area has, as previously discussed, 3 layers of paint, body color does shine trough.

[gulf908]

....I'm still waiting to buy the CD of the complete 700 mile 70S photo documentation....

I'm a close second in line for that one ,pls....

Cheers,
Dennis.

[Gearbox]

I just restored my very original early 71 911S (number 87 as I recall) and stripped the whole car to bare metal. This is what I had on a Baja Red car. White primer, Grey undercoating under the car, wheel wells, rocker, lightly in the engine compartment and lower parts of the trunk between the batteries, followed by the body color. There was a flat black wash that was brushed on in the engine compartment, wheel wells, and in the trunk, only on the vin stamp near the passenger side strut on the trunk floor and the tops of the strut towers. I was pretty anal on identifying the material layers reproducing the exact order. Hope this helps, good luck Allan

[Gearbox]

Here's a picture at the begining of the strip down, you can see the red paint over the undercoating the black wash wearing away in the wheel wells and only on the tops of the struts (although the vin stamp is painted as well) are brushed black in the trunk.

[andrew15]

Thanks Allan!
That's exactly what I was looking for. It seems we are restoring the exact same thing - I've got a bahia red 70S coupe that I'm starting to strip this weekend. I'll also need to get the rockers done - did you do them with the body on a rack or just supported on jack stands?

thanks,
Andrew M

[Gearbox]

Hey Andrew, My floors were solid and since it's a coupe, no worries about the car folding in half. Even when I had the outer and inner rockers cut out, the car was very solid, the floors gave it alot of structural support. I leveled the car on 4 jacks, rear torsion tubes and front A arms, and inserted shims to get it level. Just do one side at a time, and use colecos to position the panels before welding. Then trail fit the doors and fenders to make sure you have everything lined up before you weld. Also, I have to tell you, the repro parts suck. Lots of pounding, cutting and reforming to get it right. But that's all we have to work with since many of the OEM's are no longer available or superceded. Found a NOS passenger fender support with the holes for the oil cooler (NLA) on e-bay and it fitted perfectly. The other side was repro and required lots of massaging to get in to place. Also buy gallons of Eastwoods rust solvent and POR15 silver. Nows the time to eliminate the surface rust and seal it forever inside all the nooks and cranies. Took me 6 months for all the rust work, stripping to bare metal, and painting in the back yard. Check out my link listed below under 1971 911S and see what you are getting into. Not terrible, but you have to be commited, just wear away at it everyday and it'll be done in no time. Plus you'll see a lot of tricks that may help you along. If you have any questions, drop me a line, everything is still fresh in my mind....actually, I don't think it'll ever go away lol. Good luck on the project, Allan